UD Professor Emeritus Richard F. Heck changed science and the world with his discovery of the “Heck reaction.” In 2010, the Nobel Prize Committee recognized his incredible contributions by awarding him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with co-laureates Prof. Ei-ichi Negishi and Prof. Akira Suzuki. This short documentary, Discovery and Achievement: Richard Heck’s Contribution to Science and the World, tells the story of how Heck became interested in chemistry and why his discovery is so important.

It is our hope that this video would be a resource to all Delaware high school teachers, as they seek to inspire the next generation of world-changing scientists.

Additional Resources

For a large-format version of Discovery and Achievement, please click the link below:

Discovery and Achievement_Large format.mp4

To receive a DVD of Discovery and Achievement, please email Prof. Watson.

Classroom Demonstrations: From the Screen to the Classroom

Prof. Watson and her graduate students are interested in performing classroom demonstrations of palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, like the Heck reaction, as well as other cool examples of chemical transformations. If you’d like to schedule a visit to your classroom, please email Prof. Watson.

Financial Support

This documentary was produced with generous support from the University of Delaware and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.